From March 12th to April 28th 2025, the Australian Queer Archives (AQUA) will host a powerful exhibition in the VPC Pride Gallery titled, Don’t Be Too Polite: Feminist Posters and their Collectives. This exhibition highlights the vital contributions of Australian lesbian-feminist artists and print collectives over the past five decades, showcasing their roles in LGBTIQA+ activism and artistic expression.
About Don’t be Too Polite: Feminist Posters and their Collectives:
This exhibition highlights the important role of Australian lesbian-feminist artists and print collectives over the last 50 years and the role of lesbian artists and LGBTIQ+ activist struggles. Central to the production of these posters were community print workshops and collectives, that drew on the political poster making of the women’s liberation and anti-war movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing on leftist politics and the feminist principles, these collectives and workshops helped support a range of community arts programs and activist campaigns, from anti-nuclear to lesbian custody rights, women’s refuges to cultural festivals. Many of the lesbian-feminist artists who produced these graphics weren’t sufficiently acknowledged at the time, with the role of the collective paramount. This exhibition offers an opportunity to profile these artists, as well as the collectives and activist struggles, and the reflect and connect this work with LGBTIQA+ activist struggles now.
About AQUA:
Established in 1978, the Australian Queer Archives (AQUA) is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and celebrating materials that document the lives and experiences of LGBTIQ+ Australians. AQUA holds the most significant research collection for LGBTIQ+ histories in Australia, encompassing a wide range of materials, including artworks, historical documents, community organisation papers and more!
